Sonic Forces Rewritten
by MilesPrower3
Summary: A rewrite of Sonic Forces to satisfy some of the problems I and many others had with it and to add more depth to an otherwise mediocre story.
1. A Trip Through Time

The sky blue hedgehog was standing at the peak of a mountain near Never Lake. He was admiring the beauty of Little Planet, a moon that only came around once a year. It seemed so long ago since he had gone there to save his friend Amy from the clutches of Dr. Robotnik and his robot, Metal Sonic. A lot had transpired since then. He had met his best friend, a two-tailed fox named Miles, whom he nicknamed "Tails". He had gained a new friend, Knuckles the Echidna, guardian of the Master Emerald, who had been tricked by Robotnik into believing Sonic was the bad guy, only to realize it at the end and team up with Sonic and Tails in order to stop him once and for all. But Robotnik came back. He always does. He teamed up with his future self to bring both Sonic and his future self to their doom by taking things from his past and future. After the adventure in time, Sonic had returned back to his home and everything started returning to normal. But then he saw in the distance, an obese man in a hovercraft flying to Little Planet. No, not again. Robotnik had already tussled with time twice, why was he going to bother again? The hedgehog stood up. He knew what he had to do.

He took a leap in the air and rolled down the mountainside to gain enough momentum to make the jump. As he rolled up and off the slope, he gained just enough air to land within Little Planet's gravitational pull. He adjusted himself in midair to land feet first on the ground. He hit it with a thud and took in his surroundings. Palmtree Panic, perfect. He looked around more and saw Robotnik's machine waiting. As he was about to confront him, Robotnik pressed a button in his cockpit. Suddenly seven mystical gems came up from the ground and surrounded Sonic. The Chaos Emeralds? No, it couldn't be those, the gems weren't the right shape… Sonic gasped. Of course! The Time Stones! Just as Sonic realized this, the gems spun around him so rapidly that Sonic suddenly found himself in a transitional void. Of course, this was Robotnik's plan. He was going to trap him in another time so he could take over in the present. Sonic closed his eyes and braced himself for the impact of wherever – and for that matter, whenever, - he was going to end up.  
A yellow fox stood, cowering, in a desolate ruined city. His best friend and admired hero, Sonic the Hedgehog, had been trapped in another dimension for many years and Dr. Eggman had taken over the world with the help of his baddies, the ultimate robot clone, Metal Sonic, the 4,000 year old water god, Chaos, the leader of an ancient Zeti tribe known as the Deadly Six, Zavok, and the black hedgehog he had once thought a friend, Shadow. Tails may have gone through a lot, but he had never been more frightened than that very moment. He just couldn't go on after his best friend had been trapped forever, and it was right now that he was being confronted by Chaos. Off guard and with nothing to fight with but his fists and a tablet, the fox, named Tails, was scared to death. Possibly out of desperation, he called for help from his long gone friend, and just then, a portal opened.

Of all the places Sonic expected to end up, stomping the head of a water monster in a desolate ghost town was not one of them. He quickly jumped off the puddle and landed in front of a familiar face. His eyes widened as he saw the future version of his best friend, Tails.

"Woah…" said Tails in awe. "You must be that Sonic from the past, right? But how?" Sonic reached out behind him and pulled out one of the gems that brought him here before realizing that he didn't have the rest. Tails examined the gem for a moment and then opened his eyes wide as he came to a realization.

"Little Planet?" he asked. Sonic nodded his head in confirmation. "I knew it." Tails said. "Come on, Sonic, I need to bring you back to the base. You might be a key in figuring out this multiverse-sized puzzle."


	2. Between An Imperator and A Hard Place

_Long Ago..._

The heroes screamed as they were shot down by the doctor's armada. They had just escaped the Twilight Cage to find that Dr. Eggman had taken over the world in the many years they were trapped there. Time moved slower in the Twilight Cage, so what seemed like only a few weeks had turned out to be a few years in Earth time. With the absence of the pesky hedgehog and his friends, Eggman had been able to build a new empire. As the heroes' pod came out from the portal, Eggman knew he couldn't let them live. If they didn't die from the impact of the shot, surely he could just as easily trap them back in the Cage. Surely enough, the crash didn't even leave them with a scratch. Eggman resorted to plan B. Without Sonic disrupting his plans, he figured out how to travel across dimensions at will. At first it was a noble cause. He could help save Sonic and be well respected by the citizens of Earth. Perhaps if he turned over a new leaf he could finally achieve his dream of building his own theme park. Perhaps he could even save his future descendent; whom he had found out was trapped in another dimension after a lab accident. But then he realized all of the things he could do with dimensional travel. He could commit any evil deed and escape to another dimension without being caught. Of course, this never came to use as his pure power of intimidation and unstoppable force allowed to him to easily take over the highest powers of the world. He couldn't be stopped now, not by the nemesis he once thought to be trapped forever. As soon as the heroes left the pod, he sprung a portal which promptly began to suck them in. Unfortunately for him, only the blasted blue hedgehog was stuck in the pull. No matter, the rest would be foolish enough to try and help him and end up sucked in anyway. It took too much power to simply create another portal so soon.

"Dang, that was some journey." Sonic said, dusting himself off as he exited the ruined pod.

"Yea, for sure." Tails replied.

"No doubt." Amy chimed in.

"Now that my negotiations with the Nocturnus are done, I think I may enjoy this planet you call 'Earth.'" Shade said. Shadow simply grunted. Then, before anyone else could speak, a portal suddenly opened up behind them. Sonic was immediately dragged in by the pull. He tried to escape it by running, but even at his fastest speed, he couldn't escape the pull of the portal. Tails reached out his hand, trying to save his best friend.

"No, Tails, you'll just be dragged in too. I'll find a way out. Take care of yourselves." He said as the portal swallowed him.

"I'll go after him." Shade said. "I've lived in the Twilight Cage my entire life. I'll find him no matter where he's ended up." Then she jumped in the portal after him.

Tails' head drooped. He felt responsible for his friend getting sucked in. If only he had pushed him out of the way. He should've known since they were shot down that Eggman wasn't going to let them off that easily. He was about to jump through the portal, but it closed before he had the chance. Ignoring his friends' comforting, he ran back to the city. He was going to find a way to save his friend, even if it killed him.

Sonic groaned as he landed on his feet in the Twilight Cage. He was exactly where they were when he left. Before he could react, he felt his hand being magically shackled. Of course.

"You are not welcome here, hedgehog." A cold voice said behind him.

"Alright, who are you? One of Ix's soldiers?" Sonic asked.

"Close, but not quite. I am Imperator Di. Ix's successor." The voice said, then Sonic turned around.

"Oh great. Another evil overlord who wants to kill me. Just another day in the life of a hero." Sonic said.

"You better watch your tongue, hedgehog. I am aware Shade has come to rescue you, but she will be too late. You will be placed in a prison even she doesn't know of." Di replied.

"Welp. Not like I have anywhere better to go. Lock me up, Di. No prison can hold me!" Sonic said.

"As you wish."


	3. Enter the Rookie

"Guys!" Tails said as he entered the base. "You'll never guess who I found!"

The Resistance Base was a shabby tent with several smaller, interconnecting tents surrounding it. The main tent was scattered with bits and pieces recovered from the town that may be useful in the future, as well as a bookshelf overfilled with books on time and space travel, as well as a few computers. Amy stepped out from one of the smaller tents.

"Tails, I thought you were trying to find the masked guy." She said.

"I was, but then I was attacked by Chaos. But then Sonic saved me!"

"Tails, that's impossible. Sonic's still in the Twilight Cage."

"Let me finish! But, this wasn't OUR Sonic; it was a Sonic from the past." Tails said. "Sonic, come on in!"

Sonic stepped into the tent. Amy's eyes widened.

"SONIIIIIIIIIIIIIIC!" she squealed, then picked him up and squeezed him like a teddy bear. Sonic groaned. Clearly, nothing had changed.

"Amy, he isn't here to cuddle, you know." Tails said. Amy dropped him. "He's here to help us save OUR Sonic and get back to his time." Sonic nodded his head in agreement.

"I'm sorry," Amy replied. "it's just been so long since we've seen Sonic. It's good to see Sonic."

"It's good to see any Sonic, for that matter." Tails said.

"Be careful what you tell and show him," Silver said, coming out of a tent opposite of Amy's, "revealing anything too big about the future could cause a massive time anomaly. Trust me, I'd know."

"I understand." Tails replied. "But can I at least tell him where we are and what's going on?"

"Yes." Silver answered. "If he's going to help us, he should at least know the basic situation."

"Okay, Sonic. Listen up." Tails began. "Eggman took over the world while we were…away, and trapped your future self in another dimension. I, as well as several others, have formed a resistance to save Sonic and stop Eggman. This is our base; it may not look like much, but it's safe and discreet and I'm glad to call it home. I believe you may be able to help us with our problem." Sonic stared longingly at the gem in his hand. "Don't worry, buddy. We'll find the rest of the stones and get you back home." Sonic looked up at Tails and smiled for the first time since he came here.

"Speaking of the resistance," Knuckles said, coming out of yet another tent. "Don't we have a new recruit coming in today?"

"Yes," said Amy. "a survivor from the city."

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Tails slid the metal peephole to see who it was. Standing outside the tent was a red wolf wearing a headset and a toolbar. Tails opened the door and closed it immediately after dragging the wolf in.

"What's your name, rookie?" Knuckles asked the wolf.

"My name…my name is Gadget…" he replied nervously.


	4. Search and Rescue

"Guys! I just received a blip!" Tails said as he looked at his tablet.

A few weeks had passed since Sonic arrived and Gadget had joined the team. Not much major had happened since then. A few small battles with Eggman's robots and some search and rescue missions for displaced townspeople, but nothing particularly special. The mysterious masked villain was still yet to be tracked down and Tails had yet to have an encounter with Eggman or his goons. But all of that was about to change.

"It's from Shade!" Tails said. Everyone except Sonic and Gadget gasped in anticipation. "She found Sonic! He's been kept prisoner in a high-security prison, and she was caught too. We need to rescue them, guys!"

"Hold on," Knuckles said. "if this is really as high-security as she said, we shouldn't all go, it'd be reckless and then we'd all be caught. We'll send two people." Rouge volunteered immediately. "Okay. That's one. Who else?" Everyone backed away. Then, one voice in the back spoke up.

"I-I'll go." Gadget stuttered.

"Gadget, no! It's too dangerous!" Tails exclaimed. "I'll go instead."

"No, Tails." Gadget replied. "You're too valuable to the team. I'll go. I know my way around Eggman's machines. I'll pop up the portal to the Twilight Cage. Rouge and I will go through."

"But what if you're caught by Eggman's robots?"

"We'll fight our way through if necessary." Rouge said. "Right, Gadget?" Gadget nodded.

"You'll leave tomorrow then." Knuckles said. "Get some rest, you'll need it."

The next morning, as they were packing up, Knuckles confronted Gadget.

"Hey, rookie. I haven't known you long, but I just wanted to say good luck. Over these past few weeks, I've been watching you closely. The passion you've put into even the smallest of tasks has been greater than that of any other recruits we've had before. I believe in you." Gadget smiled. "Oh, and by the way," Knuckles turned around to grab something off of the table. "you're gonna need this. It's a wispon." He handed the bright red weapon to Gadget. "Use it wisely." Gadget nodded.

After a few hours of treading ground, they reached Eggman's Tower. Rouge picked the lock with her nails.

"Y'know, for a monarchist world power, Eggman sure doesn't have very good security." Gadget commented. Alarms started going off. "Did I jinx it?"

"You jinxed it." Rouge replied flatly.

"Well, guess we're gonna have to fight our way through."

"Yep. Let's go, rookie."

Rouge and Gadget fought their way to the top of the tower, kicking through Egg Pawns and burning Buzz Bombers to a crisp. When they reached the central computer room, they were surprised to see Eggman wasn't waiting for them there.

"This is gonna be too easy." Rouge said, running to the control panel.

"Rouge, wait! It might be a-" Gadget started.

"Augh!" Rouge screamed as she was knocked back by a portal opening in the center of the room.

"-trap."

A masked Jackal stepped out from the portal.

"Well, well, well." The jackal said. "It seems I have more ants to crush."

Gadget helped Rouge to her feet. "Who are you?" he asked.

"That is none of your concern." The jackal replied.

"Well, I gotta call you something, right? I mean, what else am I gonna call you when I tell my friends how I beat you? Do you really want your tombstone to read 'The Masked Clown?'"

"Ha! I like your spirit, weakling. Just for that, I may not make you die as painfully." The Jackal said. "If you must call me something, refer to me as Infinite."

"Alright, Infinite, prepare for the butt-kicking of your life!" Gadget replied, rushing forward and pushing the trigger on his wispon. Infinite laughed and touched the gem in the middle of his chest, and the entire room had a red hue. Suddenly, several cannons appeared floating above Gadget and they all shot at once. Rouge dived to push Gadget out of the way and got hit instead. Gadget toppled over. He looked up at Infinite again, and suddenly it all clicked.

 _Two years ago_

Gadget hid behind a piece of rubble as a masked jackal floated in midair.

"This is my city now!" the jackal exclaimed and several townspeople appeared, weapons armed and ready to fire. All at once, they shot at the jackal. The jackal touched the gem on his chest, laughing as the projectiles floated around him and then reflected back at the townspeople, right at their heads. One by one, each townsperson collapsed, dead, in the town center. Gadget glanced to his left to see the last of them, his own mother, collapse. He ran to her limp body crying, questioning the reality of it. He put his head over her heart. Nothing. Suddenly, anger seeped through him. He got up and faced the jackal. From his mother's limp fingers, he grabbed a wispon. He shakily aimed it at the jackal.

"Fool." The jackal said. "Do you wish to die just as these other have?" Gadget considered this for a moment, then decided that it wasn't smart to go after him now. He was just a kid, he couldn't face him like this. But he swore to himself that one day he would find him and he would get his revenge. He ran off, dropping the weapon.

"That's right, weakling. Run home." The jackal was pleased. No one could question his power, and he would simply obliterate those who did. But at the same time, he felt a certain remorse. How many of those he killed had families? Friends? It brought him pain to remember how he felt that long ago day. No, he couldn't think this way. These pathetic lifeforms deserved what they got for questioning his power. He was Infinite, he couldn't be weak.

 _Back to the Present_

 __Anger surged through Gadget. This was the guy who killed his mother. He vowed he'd get his revenge. He wasn't backing down from that vow.

"I can see you've taken enough of a beating already. I'll just leave you to die. Farewell!" Infinite said before vanishing.

"Dang it." Gadget said under his breath. He looked to his right and saw Rouge lying there in pain. He rushed over to her. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine, it'll heal. Just activate the portal and find Sonic without me. I'll go back to the base. I'm sorry I can't help you more."

"It's alright." Gadget said. He helped Rouge get to her feet and watched as she limped out the door. He walked up to the control panel and messed around with it until he found the right combination of buttons to activate the portal to the Twilight Cage. As soon as it opened, he hopped in.


End file.
